Princess Charm School
by wikelia
Summary: Astrid is a poor but hardworking girl, who didn't want more than her family to be happy. What she wasn't expecting was to get accepted into Princess Charm School and change her life forever, not just by becoming a lady royal, but by uncovering a dark secret about herself and the kingdom of Berk.
1. Chapter 1

As Astrid opened the doors to the cafe, she thought wryly of how many doughnuts would sell if she was a princess.

Many more, probably.

But unfortunately, Astrid was _not_ a princess, she was a waitress, and a good one at that. So right after the doors to the cafe were open, she got to work. Chairs were put down, love seats were reclined, cushions were fluffed, and coffee was made.

People started coming in an hour after that. Her boss told her they'd need more than the regular today, but for the life of her she could not remember what was so important today, and since her boss already seemed so stressed out, she didn't bother asking him.

With a jolt, the girl realized she'd forgotten the magazines, so four or five were placed onto a table, each one a picture of Dame Gothel smiling into the camera with perfectly white teeth.

And that was how the day went. At one point, there were so many people ordering that she accidentally squirt ketchup on herself. Scowling, she wiped it off while a few people laughed. One old woman smiled kindly and advised her to use a certain brand when she got home. And she really would have taken the advice, had it not been for the fact that she could not _afford_ such a high quality brand. She wasn't the richest girl on the block.

Astrid still thanked the woman and gave her a discount, because she _had_ only been trying to help. Yes, the blonde was tough, in her neighborhood, you sort of had to be, but her mother had raised her well. She was a polite and well-mannered young lady, who just happened to have ketchup all over her shirt.

When the sun was down, Astrid with a yawn, thought happily that at least tomorrow was Saturday and there was no work to do. Well, no _work_ work. There was still laundry, and sweeping, and polishing...why was she looking forward to the weekend again?

She said goodnight to her boss, and walked to the store to pick up a few things before heading back home tiredly. All of the lights in the small apartment were out, except for one in the living room. She trudged upstairs and opened the door quietly, only to see her little brother watching television. She set the bags she was carrying down on the counter, before walking up to him and, with a smirk, mercilessly tickling him.

"Ast - Astrid!" shouted Gustav estatically, "St-stop it - ha - stop!" There were tears rolling down his cheeks very soon, and she stopped, still grinning.

"What are you watching?" she asked, opening the bags and taking out groceries.

"The Princess Charm School show," her brother responded, "they're all gathering for the lottery tomorrow."

"Why are _you_ watching _Princess Charm School?"_ she asked amusedly. She didn't really have anything against the channel, but Gustav wasn't that interested in these things.

"No reason," her brother replied cryptically, and with a jolt Astrid realized that the lottery was the reason the cafe was so busy. _Everyone_ was excited about that lottery, a chance to become a lady royal (the second-command to a princess) was very tempting.

An old woman walked through the door and sleepily asked, "Astrid?"

"Hey, Mom." She gave her a quick peck on the cheek. "I brought you a strawberry creme brule!"

Phlegma smiled. "Thank you. Gustav, please turn the TV off, it's late now."

"Aw, but Mom, there's no school tomorrow. Well, except for Princess Charm School. And I'm certainly not going there." He laughed nervously.

"Five more minutes. That's it."

Gustav nodded, and resumed his watching. His sister noted with interest that he didn't seem to be very relaxed; his shoulders tensed every time the word "lottery" was said on screen.

After she led her mother back to her room and finished unpacking the groceries, Astrid took a seat next to her brother. "The doctors say anything?"

Gustav exchanged a worried look with her. "They said she should be comfortable. For now, at least."

"Comfortable?" Astrid asked incredulously, " _Comfortable?_ She should be all better!" She took a deep breath to calm herself. "Never mind, I just have to keep working until we can afford a better place."

"With better doctors for Mom?" Gustav asked hopefully.

Astrid nodded, and felt herself lolling her head on her shoulders. She murmured sleepily, "And a better place for you to grow up."

While Astrid's family wasn't exactly the richest, they never let it get them down. Breakfast was cheerful, and Gustav had turned the TV on again. Interested, Phlegma sat down on the couch to watch.

On screen, Dame Gothel and Headmistress Toothiana stood on the stage, along with Princess Rapunzel, Dame Gothel's daughter. Thousands of girls were there, all holding your breath.

Headmistress Toothiana spoke. "I'm sure all of you are very excited, but only one will be picked to be a lady royal and change her life...forever."

"I hope," muttered Gustav quietly, "I hope, I hope, I hope."

Astrid glanced at him weirdly. "You want to go to Princess Charm School?"

The boy's face turned a little pink, for the thought of him wearing a dress and a crown was slightly embarrassing. "Not exactly."

Astrid grinned at his flustered behavior, although she was curious as to why he was so tense. She turned around to the counter, and began to make toast. She heard Toothiana continue. "And, to present this marvelous award, Miss Rapunzel Gothel!"

The audience clapped, but the princess herself scowled. She whispered something to her mother, who in turn took the mic from Toothiana and countered, "You of course mean _Princess_ Rapunzel Gothel. My daughter will soon be the ruler of Berk."

Astrid turned around to watch, amused. Rapunzel actually did look like a ruler, if not a little haughty. Her mother, on the other hand, was dressed in jewels and the best fabric, and looked more like a spoiled little rich girl than a queen. She shook her head. The government really was corrupt.

Toothiana spoke in a hushed voice to Gothel about something; Astrid guessed she was contradicting her. " _Miss_ Rapunzel?"

Gothel, ruffled, nodded to her daughter, who nodded back, and stepped up to the basket. She spun it two times before reaching in and taking out two names. Dropping one, she prepared to read the other. Still listening, the girl watching the screen turned back around to continue breakfast.

The crowd held their breath.

Rapunzel spoke regally. "Astrid Hofferson."

Astrid whipped around.

" _What?"_

 **See how unoriginal I can be? :)  
Yes, this is based off of Barbie: Princess Charm School. I've been in the Barbie mood lately. But I'm not going to watch the movie until this is done.  
Now, I wanna clear things up.  
Please, PLEASE, don't tell me, "Actually, she said..." or "That's not exactly what happened." I have seen this movie a LOT of times, if I change something, it is fully intentional.  
I. Do. Not. Hate. Rapunzel. In fact, she is my favorite Disney princess, but Gothel is in this, and, well...you'll see how it works out.  
You don't have to watch the movie to read this story.  
Toothiana is from ROTG.  
This has Hiccstrid, but it is not a Hiccstrid story. Hiccup will not be present for very long. It's ****_Princess_** **Charm School.**


	2. Chapter 2

Gustav jumped up. "Yes! I knew it! I _knew_ it!"

Astrid and Plegma were staring at the screen, transfixed by everything. Astrid's mind was in a whirlwind - how had she gotten into...into... _that_ school? She hadn't even applied!

Suddenly, watching Gustav dancing around, she came to a horrible realization. She grabbed his shoulders. "You applied _for_ me!?"

"Only five or six times," Gustav shrugged, "A day. For an entire year!" He then broke free of her grip and began a very annoying song that went like, "Who's gonna be a lady royal, Ast's gonna be a lady royal! Who lives in the palace, Ast lives in the palace!"

"Mom!" shouted Astrid furiously. Phlegma wore a mixed look of confusion, helplessness, and...was that amusement? She got even more mad, and was about to give Gustav a piece of her mind, or better, strangle him, when a loud whinny from outside interrupted her and her little brother ran to the window.

" _Ast!_ You get to ride in a _carriage!"_

She peered out the window and saw that, yes, there was a magnificent horse outside, with an even more magnificent carriage attached to him. " _Gustav,"_ she groaned, "What have you _done?"_

He didn't bother to answer, and when someone knocked on the door, he rushed to open it, only to see a rather large man peering over him. "Astrid Hofferson?"

Gustav gaped, and pointed inside to his sister. The man stepped in. "Hello, Miss Hofferson. I'm here to take you to Princess Charm School."

Astrid shook her head. "No, no, there's been a mistake, Mr. - she read his nametag - Stabbington. I'm _not_ going to Princess Charm School."

"Yes, you are!" Gustav protested.

Astrid struggled to hold her patience as she pulled her brother aside. "Gustav, _look_ at me. I've got ketchup splatter all over my shirt and straws in my pockets. I don't belong with a bunch of princesses."

"You look beautiful," he reassured her sweetly.

"Thank you, but the girls over there aren't going to think that."

"Astrid." This time it was Phlegma who spoke, softly, but stern nonetheless.

She glanced at her mother. "Mom, tell him -"

" _Astrid_ ," she said again, "Look, it was wrong for Gustav to go behind your back, but..."

What? Was her mom implying that she should actually _go?_ Astrid gaped.

"An opportunity to be a lady royal? That - that would -"

This time it was the girl who interrupted. "Would change our lives forever." She took a good look at Gustav, who was smiling at her, and she realized he hadn't just entered her for _her_ benefit, it was for _all_ of their benefit. She looked at her mom, who gave her a nod and a gentle smile.

"But what about...what about the rent? Someone needs to pay, and -"

"The school will take care of that," the man interrupted smoothly, "Any expenses. You don't need to worry about that."

That eased her worries, but she still felt hesitant. A lady royal? Was she even cut for royalty of any kind? What if - what if…

She took another good look at her family, who were staring back with wide and hopeful eyes, and felt her heart clench painfully. She had to do this - if not for her, then for them.

"Alright. I'll go."

"Yes!" Gustav pumped a fist in the air and ra to hug his sister. Astrid laughed as the hug nearly knocked her backwards.

"Let's go, then." Stabbington inclined his head towards the door. "The carriage is waiting."

" _Now_?" Astrid asked bewilderedly.

"Now," the man confirmed, "Unless you want to forfeit your scholarship."

"Just, uh, let me pack, it won't take long, I swear -"

"It's all at the school. We have to leave now."

This was all happening way too fast for her liking. She hugged her brother and mother longingly, not wanting to let go. The man behind her went, "Tick tock, tick tock."

"I love you," she whispered to her mother, "I won't let you down."

"You never have," her mother responded, tearing up, " _Go,_ Astrid." She ushered her out the door.

Safely in the carriage, Astrid kept waving until the two were no longer in the carriage. Then, she took a glance at what was in front of her. Just a cup of tea, a teapot for refills, a mirror, and a tube of lipstick. Well, Astrid thought, she might as well begin her training now. She picked up the lipstick and the mirror and carefully began applying it. So far, so good…

And then the carriage hit a bump on the road and her hand spiralled out of control. When she looked at herself in the mirror, there was a bright red mark all across her cheek. _Great._

And it got even better. As she took a napkin from the small table, her hand decided it had not done enough damage and knocked over the cup of tea all over her shoes. Astrid hissed in pain. It wasn't that hot, but it was enough for her to realize that the next few months weren't going to be easy. "Huh. School hasn't even started and I've already flunked Carriage Riding 101."

The carriage went on, and after a while, Astrid could see the beautiful stone building that was the castle. " _Wow."_

And right next to that, but no less magnificent, was the school itself, towering like a fortress, the Berkian crest waving from the fluttering flags. Stabbington stopped the carriage in front of the school and Astrid got out. "So, uh, where do I -"

She never got to ask, because he simply rode off before she could. "Gee, isn't he a nice one?"

Just her, then. She took a deep breath, thought of her family back home, and opened the door.


	3. Chapter 3

The sense of magic in the air was undeniable. But that was probably because of all the little fairies flying around. Astrid had heard about these fairy assistants, but she'd never actually seen one. Of course, a place as prestigious as this was bound to have them.

She stepped in, a little dazed, and hoped desperately that the lipstick from earlier had been wiped off and that those napkins from earlier hadn't been as useless as they seemed.

In her awe, she accidentally bumped into a girl, who in turn said, "Hey!" and pushed her to the side. With an oof, she bumped into someone else, who scowled at her.

There were way too many of them for her liking.

It seemed like one of the girls was about to scold her when she was saved by the bell. All of the girls, with their books and their fairies, left one by one, into their classes.

Just as she was about to stop one of them and ask where in the name of Odin she was supposed to go, someone _else_ bumped into her and knocked her down. And suddenly her face was wet.

It was a sweet little black dog, with his tongue out and looking very pleased with himself. Astrid laughed at his eagerness and sat up. "Hey, hey, calm down!"

Obediently, the dog sat, and pouted in apology. He nuzzled into her arm. "Aw, it's okay. You're a good boy...Toothless?" She read the solid golden collar. "Yeah. Er...good boy, Toothless."

"Astrid Hofferson, I presume?"

She looked up to see a petite woman wearing the most _colorful_ dress staring down at her, and immediately she recognized Headmistress Toothiana and hastened to get up. "We don't usually find our lady royals sprawled on the floor."

"I-I'm sorry," she said, tripping on her own feet, for Toothless kept hopping around her. "It's just...he's very sweet!"

"Not usually," said Toothiana with a curious smile, "Normally he's quite shy. Go lie down, Toothless." The dog complied, but not before giving her hand another lick. He pranced off, his tail dancing behind him.

"Now, would you like me to show you to your locker?" the woman asked.

"Yes, please," Astrid responded, remembering her manners at the very last second; the dress Toothiana was wearing was _very_ colorful and _very_ distracting. The headmistress nodded and began to walk, beckoning for Astrid to follow.

So she did. And as they walked, Toothiana talked. She explained each place, the classes, the library, even the spa, which Astrid wasn't all that particularly eager to go to, but which she admitted, looked extremely luxurious. It was when they passed the art gallery when Astrid remembered her brother. "Gustav would love it here."

"Gustav?"

"My brother. He's a pretty good artist. He's the one who put me in, I mean, I never would've come," she admitted, and continued to admire the paintings.

"Astrid." She heard Toothiana talk in a slightly different voice - a hopeful one?, "Only two percent of the lottery girls actually make it to the Coronation. Do _you_ think you could?"

She didn't know. So instead of confirming her outright, she merely turned around and said quietly, "I hope so. I mean, I'll sure try."

Toothiana smiled. "You'll find that all of our students hold themselves with utmost grace and -"

As if to mock her, two girls walked by, squealing loudly.

"We should have pom-poms!"

"Yes! And for the rally, we can dress up as candy!"

"I love that idea!"

The girls both gave a high-pitched scream and jumped up and down.

"Ladies!" Toothiana scolded sternly. "Calm yourselves, that is _not_ proper princess behavior. Vanellope, Taffyta, I expect better of you two!"

The girls stalked off, and Astrid swore she heard the black-haired girl mumble, "Stinkbrain." She resisted the urge to laugh. No need to get expelled before her first day even started.

Toothiana sighed. "Anyway...this is the more modern part of the school, with the tech classes, as well as all the lockers." She stopped in front of one, and was about to speak, when a voice called out, " _Astrid Hofferson! I'm looking for an Astrid Hofferson!"_

And then, for the second time that day, something crashed into her, although this one was much smaller than Toothless. It was a fairy.

"I am so sorry!" she said, horrified, and looked down at the remains of the cupcake she'd been holding. She was wearing a blue and white little dress, and had green hair. She was a pretty little thing.

Obviously holding back laughter, Toothiana spoke up. "This is Stormfly, your personal fairy assistant, who should have been here about ten minutes ago, waiting for you." She gave the fairy a pointed look, and Stormfly laughed nervously. "I shall leave you in her...capable hands."

After Toothiana left, Stormfly turned her nervous look on Astrid, as though she might yell at her. "I really am sorry. I was just trying to give you the traditional welcome cupcake. It was buttercream," she added sorrowfully.

"Now someone just drops a pot roast on me, and I'll be a complete meal." She laughed. "It's fine, don't worry about it."

The fairy brightened. Astrid noted she was wearing a spike headband. "Well, let's let you see your locker!" She went to the locker in front of her and gave a tug. The locker fell open and Astrid gaped.

"Now here you've got pencil and paper and all your other supplies, all your uniforms and a few extra dresses for casual wear, fabulous purses, and let's not forget, emergency pumps!"

Astrid's mouth was still open. "This...is my locker?"

"Then over _here,_ we've got your makeover things, lipstick" - Astrid caught the tube as it was flying out - "blush" - a close call, but she got that one too - "oh, I love this perfume!".

Too late.

She caught it, but squeezed it, right onto a passing girl, who coughed violently as the perfume consumed her. "Hey! Watch where you're squeezing that, please!"

"I'm sorry!" Astrid almost shouted, checking her voice. "It was an accident, I swear."

The girl gave her a good scowl, and Astrid realized who it was. "You're - you're -"

"Really mad," the girl finished, and this was bad, for no one wanted to make Princess Rapunzel mad. "How dare you!"

Another girl walked up to her and sniffed her. "Uh, Punz, there's such a thing as too much perfume."

" _Anna!"_

"What? Ooh, look, a cupcake!" And to the fascination of everyone watching, Anna picked up the buttercream cupcake and took a bite.

"You're the lottery girl, right?" Rapunzel asked.

"Yes, so you understand!"

She smiled in mock pity. "I understand that you're a big joke. Mother's told me that you lottery girls are just hopeless little dreamers who think they've got what it takes to be a lady royal, but end up flunking after one month."

At this, Astrid was offended. "Look, I don't care if you're a princess or a queen. You can't talk to me like that."

"Like what?" Rapunzel's eyes flashed dangerously. " _You're_ the one who should watch your mouth. You're talking to someone who could easily have you deported in a few months. _Anna!_ Let's go!"

Anna smiled apologetically before handing the cupcake back to Astrid and whispering, "It was delicious," and following her friend.

Astrid stared at their retreating backs with a scowl. Just _who_ did she think she was? Well, yeah, she was the princess, but the perfume thing had been an _accident,_ and frankly, if she hadn't caught it, it would have hit Rapunzel straight in the head. Ooh, maybe she shouldn't have caught it.

"So as you can see, everyone here is _super_ nice," Stormfly babbled, and when Astrid gave her a disbelieving look, she went on, "Most of the time. Anyway, let's get you into your uniform! Locker, please extend curtain for a royal princess makeover!"

And now she was gaping again. This school was _amazing._ Even if some people looked a little full of themselves, the experience of this much pampering was brilliant, and for a second she worried it might to to her head.

"Well go on! Get gorgeous!" Stormfly squealed.

Astrid stepped in, and picked one of the uniform outfits, which she put on herself gently. She picked one of the shoes too, but stopped at the purses. That was a little too much.

And when Astrid stepped out, she felt, for the first time in her life, like a princess.

The fairy swooned. " _So pretty!_ Now, let's get you your schedule and room."

She nodded in agreement, and prayed that her new roommates would not be as stuck up as the future princess of Berk.

Oh, she would show Rapunzel. She was far more than _just_ a lottery girl.


	4. Chapter 4

Astrid opened the door with a creak, and immediately, a girl jumped in front in her with a grin on her face. "Hey there, newbie! You play?"

And all of a sudden, a ball was thrown at her.

Now, she was pretty sporty. She could catch a ball. Sure, she hadn't practiced in a while because of work. But she certainly wasn't incapable of catching a ball.

This one however, was so unexpectedly thrown, with a lot of force, and straight into her face, so Astrid felt it was okay that she yelped and shielded her head by covering her face with her hands. Two fairies zipped around trying to catch it, but their efforts were futile. The ball bounced off her arm (rather painfully) and rammed into the wall, where it somehow acquired a pair of glasses and makeup. Then it headed towards the girl sitting on the bed, who hurriedly fell off the bed, and straight onto the laptop she had been holding. A loud, upbeat sound rang across the room.

"Nice!" complimented the girl who had thrown the ball at her. She had long dirty blonde hair, which was done in two braids, and tied messily behind her back. She also wore a smirk that would send shivers down any boy's back. She jumped on the bed and began dancing to the beat.

Astrid hurriedly went to help the other girl up. Please don't be snobby, please don't be snobby, please don't be snobby. "I'm so sorry."

Before the other girl - a raven haired beauty with her not-quite-as-long-but-equally-messy braid done over her shoulder and an angelic face - could speak up, the blonde did first.

"Don't be! Heather's been hiding her music forever and I've been dying to hear it!"

"It's not ready yet!" the raven - Heather - protested.

"Really?" Astrid asked in surprise, "What I heard rocked."

The blonde nodded encouragingly, but Heather merely held her laptop close to her and frowned. Sensing her discomfort, she added, "That's alright. You don't have to if you don't want to."

'I'm Ruffnut, by the way," said the blonde, "You've met Miss-Shy-Girl Heather. So...princess or lady royal?"

"Lady royal. You?"

"Princess. Both of us. What's your name?"

"Astrid," she mumbled, hoping it wasn't too obvious that she didn't belong here. Was she supposed to say Lady Royal Astrid? Wouldn't that be arrogant?

Heather perked up. "Astrid Hofferson? The lottery girl?"

"Is it really that obvious?" she asked desperately.

"Kinda," Ruffnut said noncommittally, "Because they said Astrid Hofferson was the lottery winner on live television."

"Oh, right. TV. Forgot about that." Well, at least they didn't think she was some sort of failure. Her roommates didn't look so bad, really.

An announcement rang through the hallway.

"The Welcome Ceremony will take place in five minutes. I repeat, the ceremony will take place in five minutes. It is held in the sky deck. Repeat, in the sky deck."

"Five minutes?" All of the girls had a momentary panic attack, when they all remembered they had fairies.

Heather's fairy's name was Windshear. She was dressed in all silver, metallic silver, and her hair was pure white. She was looking to be the most responsible out of the three.

Barf was a male fairy, and when Astrid questioned his name (and his green face), Ruff said she didn't really know and to just roll with it. She said she thought it was a pretty cool name, to be honest.

And of course, there was Stormfly.

Lipstick was rubbed, blush was applied, hair was combed, and the three girls were ushered out the door faster than they could say, "Fairy."

The ceremony, like everything in the school, looked breathtaking. Streamers were hanging above the girls' heads and confetti was strewn around the floor carelessly. Magnificent, huge, balloons hung around the room, and the lights were twinkling in the night sky. The stars were never this easy to view from her home.

Home. No matter how amazing this school was, her mom and brother weren't here, so it wasn't home at all. Astrid sighed.

Up on the stage was Toothiana, smiling widely at all her students. She clapped her hands and most people fell silent. Astrid saw Rapunzel and Anna in the front seat. Anna kept on talking but Rapunzel straightened up right away, preparing to listen intently.

Okay, she might have been rude, but she did exhibit proper behavior. She was probably a star student. Except for "Listening to Your Subjects." Was that even a class?

"I welcome you all to follow in the steps of previous princesses and lady royals, to embrace your destiny, and to unlock your princess potential. Now, your classmates Vanellope and Taffyta are passing out your crowns. Don't get used too used to them. Not all of you will become a princess or lady royal. In fact -"

"Yes, yes." Dame Gothel swooped in, immediately taking the mic from Toothiana and walking up to the center of the stage. "I have an important announcement to make, ladies. I...will no longer be teaching."

A few girls gasped, and many started whispering to each other, but not once did Astrid hear a "Aw, she was my favorite teacher." She too, was curious. Why exactly would Gothel not want to teach anymore?

"Now that Rapunzel will be taking the throne, I shall spend the last of my years in the castle."

Astrid rolled her eyes. Not only did she prefer Toothiana's no-nonsense talks better, Gothel seemed to make the speech about herself rather than talking about them and the school. This was a Welcoming Ceremony for heaven's sake.

"Toothiana will continue to take over for me in her own...little way." Only a few of the girls caught the headmistress's dirty look towards Gothel. Most of them like her "little way" better.

"This is extremely saddening for me, as it has always been, ever since my sister, Queen Valka, died, and left me the throne."

"If she died," Ruffnut and Heather whispered simultaneously.

Astrid, who was sitting in between the two, asked, "What?"

"There's a legend," Heather said, "That not all of the royal family died that day."

"But that's just a legend, right?" she asked, nonplussed.

"Maybe, maybe not," Ruffnut said in a sing-song voice.

Toothiana stepped back up, much to the obvious displeasure of Gothel, and ended the ceremony. "Now, curtsies for all, and then off to bed."

As they curtsied, her new roommates told Astrid about the other legends of Berk, which seemed more and more wild by the minute. At one point she got so distracted, she tripped on her own feet and rammed straight into someone.

To her horror, it was Rapunzel.

"Ugh! Don't you have anything better to do?"

"I'm sorry," Astrid said through gritted teeth, "I didn't mean to."

"You...commoners," the princess hissed, "Shouldn't even be allowed here. Why don't you go back to whatever dump you lived in?" And with that she walked off.

Astrid sighed. "Is it bad that I want to punch her?"

"No," Ruff replied, scowling, "That is a perfectly normal feeling. I'd like to do it myself."

"Oh, don't," Heather scolded, "Astrid, just ignore her and wait for classes tomorrow. I bet you can do anything she can do."

"Yeah," she replied, already feeling more confident. "I can do...anything she can do."


	5. Chapter 5

"I can _not_ do anything she can do."

Astrid felt dizzy. Rapunzel was walking down the line, at least ten books balanced on her head. She wanted to throw up. _How_ was that even possible? There had to be some string attached to the back of her head or something. Or she was a witch. _That wasn't possible._

As anyone could see, Astrid wasn't feeling like a princess anymore.

Gothel was standing at the end of the line with a proud smile on her face, bordering on a smirk. When Rapunzel finished, she clapped. "Thank you, darling. That was brilliant." Then she turned to the other girls. "Now let's see what _you_ all can do. Start with one book."

"Okay, okay, you can do this," she mumbled to herself, biting on her lip, "You balance coffee cups every day." As the book slipped off her head and she caught it in the nick of time, she refined her statement, "Of course. I've never done it on my head."

All of the girls began walking in a line, none of them as gracefully as Rapunzel, however. Everyone walked past Dame Gothel, who would not stop giving her input as to how everyone _sucked._

"Vanellope, you are a princess, not a race car driver."

"Elsa, walk, don't ice skate."

"Merida, do you even _want_ to be a princess?"

"Like a lady, Heather, not a dragon."

"Anna?"

Anna turned around with her hands holding the book above her head and a questioning glance. "Never mind."

For a few seconds, Astrid felt triumphant. A successful five seconds where she balanced the book perfectly and walked at the same. Unfortunately, those five seconds did not last.

"Did you get those shoes in a garage sale?"  
She did not mean to look down, did not mean to let the book drop. She forgot that Rapunzel quite disliked her, had forgotten there was a book on her head, and the fact that she was wearing the exact same shoes as the other girl; it was uniform. Rapunzel had done it on purpose to mess her up.

Astrid tumbled down, hitting the girl in front of her, and they all fell like a row of dominoes, in front of Anna, who asked why no one told her it was naptime.

"You!"

And for the first time ever, Gothel was talking to her. "Did you cause this?"

No point denying it. "Yes. It was an accident, Dame Gothel."

"Stand up."

Astrid did as she commanded, feeling her face become hot as the girls stared at her. She felt a deep dislike for Gothel bloom inside her chest.

"You're the lottery girl, aren't you?" Astrid could hear the disdain in her voice. She nodded.

"Yes, Dame Gothel."

"Oh, that's what I feared." Gothel shook her head in a pitiful manner. "Turn around and face me. A true lady royal does not duck her head."

She was right. It didn't even matter that she was a lady royal. _Astrid_ was not one to look away. She messed up, so she would own up to it. She was responsible for her own mistakes. She turned to face the teacher.

Gothel gasped.

Time seemed to freeze as she stared at Astrid. In turn, every student was staring at her, wondering what could have spooked her like this.

Astrid herself leaned back, creeped out by the woman's intense stare. Rapunzel interrupted, although she too was looking at her mother with curiosity. "Um, mother? You were going to _say_ something to Astrid?"

For a second she was ignored, but then Gothel shook her head, and continued her lecture even more viciously. "Yes. _You_ \- get out of this class. In fact, you should even think about leaving this _school,_ somewhere that you so clearly don't belong!"

Astrid had taken a few steps back, her mind reeling at this injustice. She had half a mind to yell back, to scream about the unfairness of it all, but she knew that Dame Gothel was not rapunzel. She could have her banished, or worse.

So she simply said, "I understand," and ran out of the room.

 **I know this is a** ** _really_** **short chapter, especially after a two day break, but hey, at least after two chapters, I believe, you'll get some Hiccup!**


	6. Chapter 6

Lunch was the only thing about this school that Astrid seemed to do right.

Not for long.

It had been a few days, and although her classes hadn't gone all that great, she'd met all her classmates, and she liked most of them. Ruffnut and Heather were still looking to be really good people to be with, and people like Vanellope and Taffyta weren't so bad either.

She stood in line, with Taffyta in front of her. "Ooh, they're serving Strawberry Swirl today!"

Astrid laughed. "You're such a sweet tooth."

"That I am, that I am." She handed Astrid a piece, before taking one for herself and going to sit down at her own table. Astrid made her way to Ruffnut and Heather.

Behind her, she saw Rapunzel and Anna talking, and for some reason Rapunzel took Anna's cake, and after a short explanation, pointed straight at her. Anna seemed to suggest something and she quickly denied it.

"Hey, guys!" It was Vanellope, with her hair done up in a ponytail, unlike her usual uniform oriented hair. Frankly, Astrid liked this one better. It suited her.

"Ready to hear our school spirit cheer?"

"Because the time to cheer...is here!"

Heather smiled politely. "That was great!"

"Oh. that wasn't the cheer!" Vanellope exclaimed, shocked, " _This_ is the cheer!"

" _Princess Charm School is the best!_

" _Royal skills put to the test!_

" _Where people come from far and wide!_

" _And take this princess business in their stride!_

And with a finale of, "Go Princess Charm School!" they were done. The three girls clapped, Ruffnut a little dully until Heather nudged her.

"Thanks for sharing."

"Part of caring!"

After they left, Ruffnut suggested, "We should make up our own cheer."

"Yeah, right," Heather replied, rolling her eyes. Stormfly fell into the tea. "As if we could ever rhyme as well as them."

"We could! Astrid?"

She contemplated the thought for a while. "I suppose we could. Hang on, I'm gonna get a napkin."

And from there, lunch went kapoot.

As she stood up and walked off, she dragged half the table off with her, including poor Stormfly, who yelped and flew away before the mug fell on top of her. Astrid noted in horror that there was a part of the tablecloth tucked inside her skirt. She looked up and glared at Rapunzel.

Rapunzel, however, looked as surprised as she did. Everyone was staring in shock, except Gothel, who was smirking victoriously. She murmured something to Toothiana, who shook her head and continued her staring.

"I'm sorry." She swallowed a lump in her throat. Oh heck _no,_ she was not going to cry. Not in public, anyway.

Lunch should have been the one thing no one messed up. _Couldn't_ mess up. She felt a wetness prickling her eyes and threatening to spill out and she ran.

Safely in her room, she let the tears fall. Astrid cried. She cried because she missed her mom and Gustav. She cried because no one in their right mind would want her as a lady royal. It wasn't right for her to be here, she simply didn't fit in.

There was a creak and Ruffnut and Heather rushed in. The latter immediately hugged her, and Astrid attempted to wipe her tears away. It would not do well to cry in front of them.

Ruffnut sat down. "You okay?"

"No," she stated flatly, "Gothel's right. I'm not Charm School material."

"Seriously? _Gothel_ isn't Charm School material!"

"What do you mean?" she asked curiously, sitting up and wiping her nose on her sleeve.

"Oh, I know this story!" Heather squealed, and then composed herself, "Gothel is Queen Valka's sister, right? So everyone assumed she would be her lady royal! She couldn't be the princess, because Valka was older than her. But Valka _didn't choose her."_ Heather's voice dropped to a murmur.

"And Rapunzel's a year younger than us, too," Ruff added, "So, hypothetically, she should wait a year. Guess Gothel's just impatient."

Another knock startled them. Heather went to open the door to see Stormfly struggling with a package in her hands. "Help...please...now."

She smiled softly and picked it up. "It's for you, Ast, from...Gustav Hofferson?"

"Gustav?" Immediately she felt better as she reached for the package and opened it. There were quite few things in there, but one thing in particular caught her eye. Chuckling, she took it out.

"Ooh, that's a pretty drawing. Who made it?"

"Gustav," Astrid responded with a smile, "He loved the story of me being found on my mom's doorstep when I was one. Mom adopted him a few years later. I just wanna make a better life for the two of them. They mean everything to me."

And she thought she heard the door creak, but when she turned, no one was there.

* * *

"One, two, three, four. One, two, three, four."

Dancing. Another thing she was not so great at. And amazingly, her dance partner was better than her. It was amazing because her partner was Anna.

"Ow!"

Astrid winced as she felt something else come under her foot and mentally scolded herself for getting lost in thought again.

" _Again,_ Astrid?"

The phrase, "I'm sorry," had become second nature to her. She said it at least ten times a day, and she said it now to Toothiana, who, thankfully, did not kick students out of class like Dame Gothel did.

"You've stepped on eight of my toes," complained Anna, "I only have four left."

"Two," Astrid sighed, correcting her, "You have two left."

Anna glared at her. "That's even worse."

The bell rang and the girls filed out, and just as she was about to leave, Toothiana called out, "Not you, Astrid. I'd like to see you after class."

She saw her roommates giving her pitying looks, to which she responded with a grimace. Who knew what Toothiana wanted?

"Is everything okay?" she asked nervously, approaching the table.

"No, it's not, Astrid," said Toothiana with a stern glare, "Yesterday, Dame Gothel suggested that we _expel_ you."

"Oh."

She felt as though a dull blow had just been delivered to her stomach. Everything was spiralling downwards, Gustav would grow up the same place she did, and her mother would _never_ get better, and their life was never going to improve.

"I can't say I blame her. I know it's only been a few weeks, but I have _never_ seen a worse student in all my years of teaching here. To be completely frank, I was almost going to do it." The woman handed her a few books and instructed her to hand them over so that she could place them on the tables.

Astrid's head snapped up. "Did you say 'almost'?"

"Almost. Tell me, do you know what it takes to be a princess?" She began walking.

As Astrid hurried to catch up, she asked, "A crown?"

"No, not a crown," Toothiana corrected, " _Character._ All of our classes, dancing, grace, balance, they're not superficial. They build confidence. But confidence without character is _dangerous._ You on the other hand, Astrid, have a different problem. Character without confidence."

"I have plenty of confidence!" Astrid protested.

"No, you do not. Not in your lady royal skills, at least." She put the last of the books on the desk.

"So…you _are_ going to expel me?" she asked, fearing the worst.

What she didn't expect was the headmistress to turn around with a huge smile and exclaim, "I'm going to _tutor_ you!"

Astrid gaped.

"I'm sure, that with the proper guidance, you, Astrid, can graduate with your pick of any lady royal position that you want. What do you say?"

"Yes!" Astrid all but yelped, and she ran forward to hug her. "Yes, yes, yes!"

"Rule number one," Toothiana groaned out, "No hugging the tutor." She gave her a small smile.

Astrid composed herself. "Sorry. So, when do we start?"

If this woman could smirk, this was what it looked like.

"Right now."

 **I did a video for You Can Tell She's a Princess, and this is the link: watch?v=gOLGkgUCEFo  
So, yeah, lemme know if you like it, and if you want me to make one for Top of the World! (For anyone who hasn't seen the original Barbie in Princess Charm School, watch these songs, they are BRILLIANT)**


	7. Chapter 7

So, apparently, Rapunzel wasn't the only witch in this school. Toothiana was too.

As Astrid stood gaping at her, the headmistress stood on a rock, balancing herself perfectly, with a vase in each hand, and about twenty books on her head.

Oh, and she was also on one foot.

The only other spectator there was Toothless, the sweet dog who had knocked her down on the first day.

"I can do this," Toothiana explained, "Because I am in perfect with the environment around me, and at ease with my body."

" _That's_ because," Astrid countered, "You're not surrounded by people who make you feel like a complete nothing."

"No one can make me feel inferior. Not without my consent" was her very cryptic and frustrating response. She stepped down. "Alright. Your turn."

"Miss Toothiana, there's no _way_ I can -"

"Not if you don't believe you can. Now, come on, thirty seconds, right here, on the ground."

Thankfully she didn't have to use the books, but even just the vases weren't a walk in the park. She took them in each hand, and slowly, shakily, stood on one leg.

"That's it!" Toothiana's words of encouragement cut through the air. They didn't seem real to her. At all.

"I can't do it," Astrid mumbled, already stumbling, and then she said, louder, "I can't do it, Miss Toothiana!"

"Of course you ca-"

Astrid shrieked, and fell with a thud, forward onto her face. There was a pain on her right cheek, it was going to bruise, she was sure of it.

Her tutor had dirt on her face from the vase. "Well, I see we have our work cut out for us."

Toothless barked.

* * *

"Alright, now all you have to do is dress the mannequin, and then you're done. Understood?"

"Understood," Astrid replied, accessories in hand. She couldn't fail this, all she had to do was put on a measly bow, hat, and necklace, and then she was done.

"Begin...now!" Toothiana set the timer.

Astrid's fingers flew to set the bow. Her finger got tangled in a string and she started over, scowling. After the second time, she merely tied it over her finger, and then pulled it out, leaving the bow very messy.

The hat was thrown on the wrong way (the design was facing the back of the mannequin's head) and then she stated on the necklace. It slipped as she was about to clasp it and, although, she caught it in the nick of time, putting on a necklace would no longer be seen as a simple task.

She turned around to demonstrate it to Toothiana. The woman shook her head and held up the timer, frowning. Her time was already up.

Astrid slumped.

* * *

Walking across a room with a gown on? Easy, right?

No, not easy.

For the hundredth time that week, she fell.

* * *

Honestly, what did serving tea have to do with being a lady royal? She helped with the decision making, no? Nonetheless, this was easily the one she was looking forward to the most. After all, she had been a waitress before this.

But as she poured the tea into the cup, her headmistress (who had insisted to be called Tooth) shook her head. "Not like a commoner, Astrid. Like a lady royal."

"What's the difference?" she groaned.

Toothiana, oh, _Tooth,_ spent half an hour telling her what exactly the difference was.

And another half hour _showing_ it to her.

* * *

She balanced a vase on each hand. Finally. Tooth put a book on her head. She fell.

* * *

She fell.

* * *

Astrid fell.

* * *

Nursing her latest bruise, Astrid sat in the library, defeated. She wouldn't, couldn't, _shouldn't -_

Toothless walked up to her with a book in his mouth, his tail wagging encouragingly.

She took a good look at him, and put the book on her head.

* * *

The history of the school was fascinating. Every single book she read would go on her head, and then she'd walk around in the library, which was usually vacant save for her, Toothless, and occasionally, a few other girls.

* * *

The timer started. First, she put the hat on, and fluffed it out. The came the necklace. Carefully, no rushing, she clasped it behind the mannequin, no need to panic.

The bow was last. Over, under, under, over, and it was done. She turned around smiling, only to be met with Tooth's surprised face.

She had beat the timer by ten seconds.

* * *

She was dancing across the room, twirling and loving it. She skipped around with her long dress spinning in a dizzying circle, creating a pulsing glow around the girl.

* * *

The rock was stepped on, the vases were held, and the books were stacked.

Astrid stood, on one leg, just as Tooth had before. She had _done_ it.

The total count of witches in this school was now a satisfying number of _three._

 **I am literally so flipping proud of myself for writing this so quickly. And also quite excited, because NEXT CHAP OUR BROWN-HAIRED DORK MAKES HIS DEBUT APPEARANCE YAS**


	8. Chapter 8

"Welcome...to our first Starlight Dance. As you can see, we have with us today the gentlemen of Prince Charming Academy."

Astrid thought her ears might burst.

"If we could keep the shrieking to a minimum, that would be much appreciated, ladies."

She took a good look at the boy in front of her. He had basically snowy white hair and blue eyes. He seemed friendly enough, but she noticed his eyes kept flitting to the golden-haired princess at the end of the line. A crush on her highness? _That_ might not go so well. Of course, she wasn't _jealous_ or anything. The boy seemed nice, not all that attractive, though.

"Rapunzel!" Anna said in a very loud voice, " _That's_ the red line, silly!"

"I wanna dance with Prince Jack," was what Astrid heard as a response, "But he's dancing with _her._ She got here first."

Oh, so luckily for _Prince Jack,_ Rapunzel seemed to like him back.

Not so lucky for _her,_ though.

"No daughter of mine sits in the sidelines during a dance!" Gothel grabbed a fumbling Rapunzel and led her to where Astrid was standing. "Looks like you'll have to sit this one out, dear. _Pity."_

Astrid thought she heard a faint "sorry" from Rapunzel but she wasn't sure, so she merely stepped back with a sigh. It _was_ just a dance, but she'd been hoping to explore _actually_ dancing with someone because everyone here thought she still stepped on toes and avoided dancing with her,

It would be a nice change. But she obeyed, and stepped out, about to leave the rom, when someone _rammed_ into her, with a, "Sorry I'm late!" followed by an, "Oh no," when he saw he'd tripped someone.

Astrid looked up to see another prince, holding his hand out for her to take. "I am so sorry about that."

She hoped she didn't look like a fish out of water, because this boy was _good-looking._ He had smooth brown hair that fell into his crystal green eyes. Freckles dusted his face, and he was wearing a suit and tie like all the other boys, but...on him, it looked exceedingly _good._ Not to mention that heartwarming smile. Remembering herself, she took his outstretched hand with a small smile of her own. "No, no, it's totally okay."

"No, it's not," he said sincerely, hauling her up. Now standing, Astrid noted he was also quite _tall._

She turned to see the whole of the room staring at them, a few girls clicking their heels impatiently. Tooth - _Toothiana_ in front of other students - was smiling all-knowingly, unlike a scowling Gothel, and she said, "That's fine. The two of you can partner up and join the dance."

They stood at the end of the line, near Anna and her partner. "Now, gentleman, lightly kiss the top of your partner's hand" - did Astrid just get _tingles? -_ "and...dance!"

It was simple enough. After all this ballroom dancing, she wondered whether her and Gustav could ever do their weekly concerts anymore, where they just pumped up the music on her phone and made up their own dance moves.

"Milady, I am Henry Horrendous Haddock the Third, young swain learning to take on the world and become a prince." After two seconds, he added, "Think that was polite enough?"

"Definitely." A swerve.

"Think you can top it?"

"Kind swain," she began, exaggerating the dreaminess in her voice, "I am Astrid Hofferson, young lady royal learning at Princess Charm School, delighted to be in your presence."

He laughed. "Well done."

"I try. So, Henry -"

"Hiccup," he interrupted.

"Huh?"

"Er, my name's Henry, but my friends call me Hiccup."

As she spun under his arm, she asked, "Is that a story I want to hear?"

"Probably not."

"Alright, _Hiccup,"_ she said, stifling her giggles, "what do you like to do?"

"I'm pretty good with mechanics," he said, twirling her, "And animals seem to have a tendency to like me. You?"

"Playing sports, but there's not a lot of that here, so unless my roommate and I are playing in our dorm, you won't see. Do you play?" she asked, genuinely curious. He didn't look the type to play football or anything.

"Oh, me? Nah." he tried to wave his hand, which was kind of hard during a ballroom dance, "Not really a sports person. More of a nature person. But hey, opposites attract, right?"

Astrid's eyes widened at the same time his eyes did. "Ah, I didn't mean to - you're very pretty, is all - no, dangit, that's not - er, would you be willing to just ignore that?"

"Sure, I'll - yeah, it never happened. Don't worry," she reassured, although she would _never_ forget that.

They talked on as the dance progressed. At one point, when they got close to Rapunzel, Astrid feared she might do something to mess their dance up, but she was too enamored in her own conversation with Prince Jack to really do anything.

As they talked, Hiccup mentioned that she looked like Queen Valka. When she asked how he knew what the queen had looked like, he simply responded that he did his research, and that both Astrid and Rapunzel looked like her. She waved it off.

When the dance finished, he murmured, "So, I'll see you at the coronation, right?"

"Yeah. Definitely." She smiled brightly at him. "In fact, can I get your number?"

Hiccup's surprised face was cute.

After the two fumbling teenagers exchanged numbers and bid their farewells, a voice said next to her, "Well, that was fun, right?"

She turned, expecting to see Heather or Ruff, but instead saw Rapunzel, who was grinning excitedly. "Looks like we both got dates!" she exclaimed, holding up her phone.

Astrid stared at her. When Rapunzel noticed, she asked, "What?"

"Nothing, it's just…you're being nice to me," she explained.

"Astrid, I'm not just an all-out mean person, y'know." The princess rolled her eyes. "Besides, you haven't bumped into me for a while."

She walked off with an air of victory, which was strange, because they hadn't even been arguing. Astrid shook her head. She didn't think she would ever get the princess. For now, she was fine with just hanging out with her two friends and not texting Hiccup too soon lest he think she was _that_ into him.

She might just be. He had been nice.

 **I'm not very happy with this chapter. I feel like I made both of them too OOC.  
Anyway, I sorta skipped the whole Rapunzel tripping Astrid and then everyone breakdancing, because it's not very important to the plot. Also, I ship Jackunzel, so...  
Rapunzel if finally nice to Astrid, will that last? (That part never happened in the original movie, in case someone who's seen it is confused) **


	9. Chapter 9

Assemblies were not a common occurrence in the school, so when Miss Toothiana _did_ call for one, everyone was wondering what the occasion was. The teacher herself stood on stage, along with Dame Gothel, who was looking as regal as ever.

"Do you know what this is about?' Astrid asked Rapunzel, who she had talked to a few more times after the dance.

"No idea," she replied, turning to face her, "Just because I'm her daughter doesn't mean I know everything."

"Funny," Astrid quipped, "I could've sworn you knew _everything."_

"Hilarious," the princess responded, rolling her eyes.

She laughed and made her way to her roommates. Heather shook her head. "When did you guys go from the I-Want-To-Kill-You phase all the way to lightly teasing each other?"

Astrid shrugged. "I don't know, but I don't particularly mind." She looked up on stage, where Tooth had just began to speak.

"Princesses, lady royals, we have a treat for you."

Ruffnut closed her eyes and crossed her fingers. "The princes are coming back, the princes are coming back…" for she had very much taken to a boy named Eret. And it was the only time she saw her twin brother, Tuffnut, throughout the year.

"From the generosity of Dame Gothel, our next manners class will be held…" She paused for dramatic effect. "In the palace!"

"Wow," Astrid breathed, "that's pretty cool."

"It is!" Heather squealed, "Can you imagine the amount of legends that could be confirmed there?"

Ruffnut opened her eyes. "Alright, cool. Not as cool as the princes, but cool nonetheless."

* * *

As a treat, the girls went down to the spa to be pampered for their once-in-a-lifetime trip. Right now they were all soaking in the tubs, which were _very_ different from Astrid's scratchy shower back home.

Stormfly flew up to her with a tube of bright blue nail polish. "Think this will go well with your eyes, Astrid?"

"It's pretty," she admitted, "but come on, my eyes aren't that -"

"Yes they are," Ruff interrupted, "I bet _Hiccup_ thought so too."

Astrid scowled. "Why do you guys keep bringing him up?"

"Because, Ast," Heather laughed, "You guys looked really adorable. Plus you've been texting him nonstop."

"I have not!" she protested. "Stormfly?"

"I'm gonna have to agree with them," she said guiltily as Windshear and Barf laughed. The fairies began doing their nails.

Astrid rolled her eyes. "Whatever. He's, er, pretty cool."

"Or just pretty," Ruff snorted, and when she saw her friend's mutinous glare, she hastened, "Ah, so what are you looking forward to at the palace?"

"I don't really know."

"I wanna find out more about Berk's magical crown!"

"Berk's magical crown?" she questioned, "What's that?"

Heather sat straight up excitedly. "Oh, oh! So, it says that when Queen Valka wore it at her coronation, it lit up!" Her voice dropped so the other two had to strain their ears to hear it. "But it hasn't been seen since then."

Heather knew how to say these things. Tingles ran down Astrid's back just listening to her. The mood was broken, however, when the three fairies cried, "All done!" and began getting their towels ready.

"Nice," Astrid complimented. "C'mon guys, let's hurry. The sooner we get to the palace, the more we can see."

* * *

Their laughter was cut short, when, horrified, they entered their room.

Every single dress, skirt, shirt, and tie had been ripped to shreds, and was strewn across the room.

 **Sorry for another short chapter!**


	10. Chapter 10

All three girls stared in horror at their clothes.

"What _happened?"_ Heather cried out, rushing to her bed, "They're all...look at them!" Slowly, the black-haired girl began to panic. "Oh _no!_ We can't go to classes without uniform! And if we skip a class, we get a _fail!_ We cannot fail so close to coronation! It's _tomorrow!"_ It seemed as though she was hyperventilating.

Ruffnut glared at the ripped clothes. "Honestly, it was Rapunzel. I know it was. She's the queen of making Astrid feel inferior."

"No," Astrid said, firmly interrupting, "No one can make you feel _inferior._ Not without your consent. I don't know who did this, but…" She turned to her two friends. "We're princesses, right?"

"We don't even have our crowns yet," Ruff pointed out, "And you're a lady roy-"

She interrupted again. "I'm not talking about crowns. I'm talking about character. Now, the _rules_ say we need to show up in uniform, right?"

"As you can see," said Heather, a little hysterically, holding her ripped skirt up, "They're a little breezy."

Astrid took the skirt from her. "They just need a little...alteration, that's all! Stormfly, Windshear, Barf!" The three fairies followed her to the bed, where she got out a needle and thread. Heather exchanged a bewildered look with Ruff.

" _Won't that make them breezier?"_

* * *

The castle was getting closer. Astrid stood out on the side of the carriage to let the wind whip through her face. She called out to the coach, "Faster, please! We cannot be late!" before sticking her head back in.

Ruff was grinning. "What do you think they're gonna say when they see us like this?"

"Hopefully, something good," Astrid responded, "We worked pretty hard on them."

"Selling yourself short, Ast?" Heather said with a small smile, " _You_ worked pretty hard on them."

They arrived in the nick of time. Dame Gothel was closing one of the doors. Astrid jumped out of the carriage before it stopped and shouted, "Wait!"

Ruffnut and Heather joined her. "And what do you think you're _wearing?_ Those aren't proper school uniforms!"

"Forgive me, madam," she answered dryly, stepping into the sunlight, "But you'll find that they are, entirely, made from pieces of our old uniform."

This was true, although it was impossible to tell at first sight.

Astrid was now wearing a rose red top, with a skeleton designed skirt. She'd added a few spikes and would even have added a fur hood had they not been pressed for time. Her shoes were still the heels from the uniform, but the girls had polished their shoes, in a crazy hope that it would ease the teachers into accepting their look. As for her hair, she'd decided that instead of leaving it open or in a ponytail, which was what most girls here did, she would do it in a braid over her shoulder. Ruff had helped with that, that girl _knew_ how to braid.

Speaking of Ruffnut, she'd apparently decided that instead of glamming it _up,_ like her roommates, she wanted to glam it _down._ A simple blue and green frock covered her now, no skirt, only the leggings. _Her_ hair was done in two braids, two _very_ long braids. All in all, even though the girl had not given much attention to her "glam factor", she looked supremely beautiful in her own right.

As did Heather. She had a silvery, metallic, look inspired by Windshear, and a braid similar to Astrid's, only a bit more simple. Her skirt was also silver, and much longer than the usual school uniform, but it had a more warrior feel to it than a princess one. And she said she was fine with that. Growing up with a half deranged brother did those kind of things to you.

Okay, so maybe they had used _some_ material that wasn't from their original uniforms. But the teachers didn't need to know that.

"But that's against the rules!" Gothel protested.

"Actually, Dame Gothel," Toothiana interrupted with a small smile on her face. "There is no rule against what they've done."

"Exactly," Astrid conceded; Tooth had agreed, she knew they won this round, "We just used our skills to unlock our princess potential."

"And beautifully at that," Tooth said gently. "Come. Join the class."

The palace was grand. There was no other way to describe it. Just the front hall was bigger than twice the size of her house. As they got in, the whispers broke out. Interested, the girls began to ask where they got it from.

"We made them!"

" _Astrid_ made them!"

"I want one!"

"Hey, will you make me one?"

Rapunzel surveyed them for a while before walking up to Astrid. "Not bad, lottery girl."

"You want one too?" Astrid teased.

"Please," she said, rolling her eyes, "I _can_ sow. I certainly don't need your help for that."

"Suit yourself."

The chatter died down as Tooth stepped up to make an announcement. "Girls, girls. As a treat, we've decided that you can have an hour to explore the castle. _Enjoy!"_ she said gallantly.

"Sweet," Heather said eagerly, "Palace secrets, here we come."

 **I SUCK AT DESCRIBING CLOTHES DEAR THOR  
Also...  
The rumored date for the new season of Race to the Edge is June 24th! I would be gallantly happy, only that's the holy month, for fasting and, y'know, NOT WATCHING DRAGON SHOWS CRI**


	11. Chapter 11

Astrid insisted that they go to the art gallery. She would memorize how the paintings looked, and recite it all to Gustav when they were together again. The three girls, laughing and joking, made their way to where all the paintings were held.

Suddenly, Heather froze. "No. Way. Astrid! It's a picture of Astrid!"

"That's ridiculous," Astrid responded, "Why would there be a picture of me?"

Her friend gestured to the drawing, and her mouth fell open. It _was_ her, wasn't it? She looked at the picture intently, before reading the engravement on the frame.

"Queen Valka, age seventeen."

Ruffnut shrugged and moved to the next drawing. Astrid, a bit hesitant, followed her. Hiccup had told her she looked like the queen, but she hadn't thought there would be _that_ much resemblance. And come to think of it, she looked a lot like Rapunzel as well. Well, that made sense, Queen Valka was her aunt.

The next portrait showed a family. At the bottom, there was a small black dog that looked eerily familiar. "That - that dog. It couldn't be."

Ruff read the bottom. "Queen Valka, King Stoick, Princess Astoria and Rachel, and their loyal dog, Toothless."

"This was painted the very day Princess Rachel was born," murmured Heather, "That night, she was kidnapped. And then a year later…"

"The car crash," Astrid whispered.

"Astrid," Ruff said in a strangled tone, "What day were you found on your mom's doorstep? Do you know?"

"The date?" she asked, shrugging, "Sure. I mean, my mom made it my birthday since she didn't know my real one. April 24th."

Her two friends exchanged such a sudden glance that she took a step back. "What?"

"Ast, you know what April 24th is, right?" Ruffnut asked uneasily.

"Yeah. My birthday. I just said that."

Ruff shook her head, before looking at Heather for support. The green-eyes girl didn't say anything though, so she sighed and said, "It's the day the royal family died in that car crash."

Astrid felt as though someone had just slapped her.

"I'm thinking that maybe baby Astoria, who was one year old, by the way - I'm thinking she didn't die."

Heather continued the thought. "Maybe she was found and left on someone's doorstep."

Astrid shook her head, not buying it, trying to convince herself more than them. "No. That's - that's - _no!"_

" _Yes!"_ Ruff insisted. "You could _be_ Princess Astoria!"

"If that's true, and Rapunzel and Gothel know it, that would explain why they're so horrible to you!" Heather said excitedly. "Because _you're_ the rightful heir to the throne, and not Rapunzel!"

Could this be possible? Could this even be true, in the craziest turn of events ever? Maybe it was. Maybe she was actually -

"No," she stated firmly, "Rapunzel isn't _horrible_ to me anymore. And this whole thing is crazy. We should get to dinner. I think that the the hunger is getting to you two."

The girls followed behind, but neither dropped the subject. "This is serious, y'know," Ruff said earnestly, "The whole fate of the kingdom is at stake here!"

"C'mon guys...it's crazy!"

 **This chapter is SUPER short, and I am SO SORRY about that. The weekend messed up my writing schedule, and stuff got messed up, and agh I'm sorry.**

 **By the way, I'm not exactly answering reviews unless you ask a question, but THE REVIEWS ARE SO NICE OH MY THOR THANK YOU!**

 **And I felt so bad, because I got a review telling me that they like that I update fast, and then I go and skip a day. I'M SORRY, really, because, I was at someone else's house and didn't have access to a computer. Damn my life.**


	12. Chapter 12

**To:** **Maevarose - Yes, Valka has changed in her appearance and she is** _ **not**_ **Hiccup's mother in this fic. Thank you for your review!**

Fairies fluttered everywhere setting the table up. At one point, Barf, winking at his female partner in crime, dove into someone's tea, only to splash out when they began to drink it. Ruff high-fived him eagerly.

"Ladies, ladies!" Gothel called out, "I have an announcement to make!"

"When _don't_ you have an announcement to make?" Astrid mumbled under her breath as she poured out tea. All lady royals were expected to serve tea, to prepare for serving later on. But she couldn't seem to focus. What she had learned in the gallery had shaken her.

"In fact, let me introduce my daughter _Rapunzel,_ who has plans to share of when she'll become ruler of Berk?"

Her daughter looked up, surprised. "I - I do?"

Gothel gave her a pointed look, so she stood up and said, "I do! Er.." Astrid felt sorry for her. Obviously this impromptu speech was not something she had wanted to do right now.

Her mother swooped in, as always and stood up to where her presentation was. "My _brilliant_ daughter" - many girls rolled their eyes - "has noticed that we have far too many buildings and sites in Berk."

Astrid gasped. Right on the slide, there was a picture of her home. The tea trickled down a girl's shirt and she yelped.

Ignoring her, she went on, "We plan to bulldoze them and make parks, with fountains, and trees, and make the world a better place."

"But…" she struggled for a way to counter her point, "People live in those places. My family is there."

"It is?" Rapunzel asked quietly. Before Astrid could respond, Gothel broke in once more.

"Rapunzel is aware of that. Those people will move elsewhere."

"How?" Astrid asked furiously, "They're like me! They don't have any money! They can't just up and move!"

Gothel stared her dead in the eyes. "If I were you, I'd leave this school and get my family ready to move."

Desperate, she tried one last method. "Rapunzel?"

The princess didn't say anything, only looked at her hopelessly. Astrid bit back a remark on her _extraordinary_ friendship skills. She ran from the room, only hearing Toothiana's quiet voice say to Gothel, "I think it is disgraceful."

"Duly. Noted."

* * *

She sat on the stairs of the school, refusing to let any tears pour out. She'd been so sure she could do it, had been feeling amazingly confident lately. But even if her family had a better life, what about the rest of the people who lived there?She couldn't, wouldn't, stand for it.

The carriage rolled up, with Stabbington riding it, looking as serious as ever. She picked up her bags and was about to get on when something nudged her side.

Toothless was standing there, wagging his tail and with a drawing in his hand. He handed it to her.3It was Gustav's drawing. She had forgotten to pack it in her rush.

Left on the doorstep. April 24th. Baby girl. Princess Astoria.

If she was Princess Astoria, then she had a job to do. Looking at Toothless again, she made her decision.

Without a word to Stabbington, she walked back up the stairs, into Princess Charm School.

She thought she heard him ride off.

* * *

It was nearing night when Ruffnut and Heather found her. "Astrid! Are you okay?"

"I'm better than okay. I'm ready."

"Ready?" Heather asked. "Ready for what?"

"To fight," she responded with as much force as she could, "If Rapunzel gets on the throne, she's going to ruin my home, and probably this kingdom along with it."

" _If_ she gets on the throne," Ruff smirked.

"She can't. If we could just find a way to prove someone else is the true heir."

"Berk's magical crown!" Ruff quipped eagerly, "It's gotta be in the palace, right?"

"The crown lights up when place on the true ruler's head. And the coronation is tomorrow. So we need to find the crown…"

The girls simultaneously put their hands in and said,

" _Tonight!"_


	13. Chapter 13

Astrid leaned against the door, trying to keep her breathing steady, The full impact of what they were about to do was hitting her hard, and she began flexing her fingers in a useless attempt to calm herself down. She checked her phone, which showed a text message from Hiccup, asking which lady royal position she wanted to take. Sighing, she closed it and stuffed it back in her pocket. After tonight, she'd either be a princess or a criminal. Not a lady royal.

"Got everything?" she asked Ruffnut, who had been packing materials in a backpack.

Ruff nodded, and Heather mumbled, "Let's go, then."

At that moment, an incessant ringing blared through the hallways. The loud alarm reflected Astrid's gut, screaming and saying to run away from a fire. She swallowed hard. Ignore, ignore, ignore.

Vanellope opened the door. "Fire drill, fire drill, there's no time!"

"Single file, in a line!" Taffyta finished behind her. They ran off, along with the other students.

Stormfly held up a clipboard. "Huh. That's funny, I don't see a fire drill scheduled for today."

"Let's just go," Astrid said, "Hopefully this will be quick."

As they walked down the hall, they saw Rapunzel come out of her room. She had changed her uniform as well, she was wearing a light purple dress that looked very nice on her and made her seem more...innocent. When she saw them, she opened er mouth, but Astrid brushed by her without listening. Her fake apologies could wait.

* * *

"Alright," said Astrid, after every last student was gone, "How much time did we lose?"

"Twenty minutes," Ruff answered, then sighed, "Not to mention an extra five minutes untying Anna from the tether pole."

Now was not the time to worry about Anna Arendelle, no matter how much she wanted to. "Let's go."

They did not take two steps before they were facing Stabbington. He leered at them threateningly.

"Those girls are criminals! Arrest them!"

All three girls turned around to see Gothel, Tooth, and Rapunzel. One who was sneering, one who was looking apologetic, and one who looked as though she'd rather not be here right now (Gothel, Tooth, and Rapunzel, respectively).

"What?" Heather asked, " _Criminals?"_

They _had_ been about to break into the palace, but they hadn't done it _yet,_ so what in the world was she talking about?

"Thieves!" Gothel went on.

Toothiana sighed. "I'm sure it's a mistake, but Dame Gothel believes you stole her jewelry."

"No!" Astrid gasped, aghast, "I would never! _They_ would never!" She gestured to her friends.

"Lies!" Gothel thundered, and the bubble of hate Astrid had for her rose to an explosive bubble, "My daughter Rapunzel _saw_ you!" She turned to her uneasy daughter. "Didn't you say that you saw Astrid poking around in my office the other day?"

Everyone looked to the princess, who cleared her throat. "I - I don't remember for _sure…"_

Gothel glared at her.

"Yes. Yes I did."

"Check their rooms!"

" _What?"_

"Girls, it's procedure," Tooth explained sternly, "If you've got nothing to hide, then there's no reason to be afraid."

They made their way into the dorm room, where Stabbington went to Astrid's bed. She watched him rummage through her bag before producing a ruby necklace. "Look what I found."

Astrid gaped. "That's not - I didn't put that there!"

"Here's another one," he said, digging one out underneath Ruffnut's bed.

"No way!" Ruff protested.

"And another." And of course, this time it was Heather's drawer which it came out of.

"We didn't steal anything!"

Tooth gazed at Astrid for two seconds with a rather sad expression before sighing. "With the witness and and the evidence, I'm afraid there's nothing we can do for now. You must be detained until we can investigate further."

"Wait, _detained?"_ Ruff's mouth fell open. " _During_ the coronation?"

"I'm afraid so."

Gothel snapped her fingers. "Stabbington!"

The girls were led out by the burly guard, and as they were leaving, Astrid locked eyes with Rapunzel. She was looking at them with a pitiful expression, and Astrid's heart clenched. "Just help us!" she wanted to shout but they were out the door before she could get a word in to the petite, pretty, and completely sorry princess.

 **Aw, poor Punzie...**


	14. Chapter 14

They walked in silence, until Astrid broke it.

"Ruffnut, Heather…"

The two girls glanced at her, and Ruff raised her eyes.

She took a deep breath. "I am so sorry for this. Now neither of you will become princesses."

Heather shrugged. "Don't sweat it. Who wants a tiara anyway? All they do is make your head itch."

"And it's not easy to keep them from falling either," Ruff added with a smile, "Plus Tuff's been waiting for me to go to jail since we were born."

The girls let out small disheartened laughs at this. Silence was about to claim them once more when a voice behind them yelled, "Stabbington!"

They all turned, and there was Rapunzel, looking superior, and very smug. "You may turn the prisoners over to me. I have something _else_ in mind for them."

He hesitated. "But my orders -"

" _Will_ eventually come from me in just a few short hours. They keys?" She held her hand out.

Rapunzel knew how to get what she wanted.

Stabbington gave them to her. "They're all yours."

"Thank you. You may go."

All three girls stared the princess down. Heather was the first to speak. "If you've come to gloat, you don't have to."

"Yeah," Ruff agreed, "We get it. You won."

"Shh!" Rapunzel looked over her shoulder.

"What are you -"

"I'm not supposed to be here," she hissed, "Mother's probably looking for me." Her expression softened and she turned to Astrid. "Tell me, are you _really_ Princess Astoria?"

Astrid's eyes widened. "I - I don't know for sure! How did you -"

"I heard you guys. At the gallery. And for what it's worth," she added, "I think you are the princess."

"Wait," Ruff cut in, "Why are you even here?"

Rapunzel rummaged in a small bag she had been carrying and took out an old looking piece of parchment. "This is a map of the palace basement. There's something of yours inside the vault." She wore a small smile.

Even before Astrid opened the map, she knew. "Berk's magical crown!"

"You _have_ to find it. Before I'm crowned. Once that happens, it's too late. Berk's mine for life." Rapunzel's shoulders sagged helplessly.

She stared at her, confused. "You don't want that?"

"I want what's right. Now, I'll leave a window open for you on the third floor. East Wing. Good luck!" She ran off, not giving them time to thank her.

"Well, then," Heather said, eyebrows raised, "I guess we're back into the game."

* * *

Toothless knew what to do. Probably because she looked so much like her mother, he obeyed her every command without hesitation. There was a guard who was watching the east side of the castle like a hawk. The dog ran up to him, and snached his flashlight right out of his hand.

"Hey, Toothle - Toothless! Come back here!"

Besides the black dog, the girls' only other companion was Stormfly, who they had run into. The other two fairies weren't there, and there certainly wasn't time to find them. Quickly, quietly, the girls ran up to the wall, and Ruff took out a rope from her bag.

"Let's hope Rapunzel did what she said she would," Astrid muttered, looking up at the third window, trying to see if it was open. Stormfly took the rope and flew up, then disappeared for a minute, confirming that the princess had indeed opened the window. The fairy came out with her thumbs up.

"Alright. You sure this will work, Ruff?"

"Not really," her friend quipped, and when she was met with alarming looks, she raised her hands in surrender. "Joking, jok9ing! Just don't look down."

They began climbing. It was not an enjoyable task, the rope burned her hands and she thought she would slip more than once.

But they all made it, whooping softly. "Now all we have to do is -"

" _Rapunzel,_ why are you still up? You should be sleeping, you've got a big day tomorrow!"

" _Hide!"_ Astrid hissed frantically. All three of them _jumped_ into the next hallway, hearts pounding and teeth almost chattering.

Astrid closed her eyes. She heard Gothel's heel's soft _click_ as the woman walked their way, and then, by a miracle, dismissed whatever she may have heard and walked away. They were safe.

For now.

 **For now...  
Was Rapunzel's redemption enough? Will the girls find the crown? Why do I feel like the Spongebob narrator?  
XD Hope you liked this chapter...**


	15. Chapter 15

The basement. Finally. The crown was so close, now all they had to do was -

"Wait," Ruff said, putting her hand out.

"What now?"

" _Lasers,"_ the other girl said, gesturing to the bars on the sides, "If we get caught in the light, the alarm will go off."

"But I can't see anything!" Heather said, biting her lip, then brightening. "Hey, Ruff, did you remember my blush?"

"Yeah," Ruffnut said, "But -"

"Give it to me."

"This is _not_ a time to -"

" _Give it to me!"_

Ruffnut looked at Astrid, who shrugged, and then sighed. She bent down and gave the blush to Heather.

Astrid knew what she was gonna do a split second before she did it.

Heather blew, with all her breath, and suddenly, every single beam was visible to them.

She smiled triumphantly at Ruff, who rolled her eyes. "So, either of you good at gymnastics?"

"Pretty good," Astrid responded with a grin.

"I think I can do a cartwheel," Heather offered.

Astrid and Ruffnut exchanged glances, before both of them ducked under.

Stormfly and the raven haired girl could only gape as the two blondes jumped, ducked, swerved, and flipped around the lights. Although Ruff got to the end first, Astrid made a close second, and they both looked at Heather expectantly.

She gulped, took a deep breath, and went under the first light. Stormfly squealed, following her, and helping her whenever she needed it.

"No, not there!"

"Hamd down! _Hand down!"_

"Up, up, up, up!"

"Ah!"

"No!"

"Eeep!"

And finally, with a flop, Heather fell in front of them. The poor fairy almost fainted with relief.

* * *

They approached the vault slowly. There was a wheel that _looked_ like it would open the door, so Astrid twisted it, but to no avail. Instead, a monotone voice began speaking. "Hello, Dame Gothel. Please enter your password."

"Password?" Ruff asked, then turned to them, "What would Dame Gothel choose?"

"Rapunzel's coronation date?" Heather suggested.

"Today's date!" It had passed midnight, and Astrid entered the date into the keypad above the wheel. There was a loud noise, like a warning bell.

"You seem to be having trouble. Would you like your password hint?"

"Yes!" all the girls shouted, and for a second Astrid worried there was voice recognition, but then the voice spoke again.

"Your hint is 'The day it all fell into place.' Ten seconds before you are locked out."

"The day it all fell into place!?" Ruffnut asked frantically, "What does that mean?"

"The day Gothel's plan started working! The day of the car crash!" Heather all but screamed.

Astrid's fingers flew to the keypad, and she entered the birthday she had grown up with (who knew what her real one was?) and the wheel spun.

The door opened.

After exchanging hasty congrats to each other, all three girls took out flashlights - it was dark in here, unlike the halls outside - and began looking.

Astrid whirled her flashlight to where an empty armour's head was rattling, and she let in a sharp intake of breath before she saw it was only Stormfly.

"Nothing in here."

She viewed a small dragon statue, which made her smile; Hiccup had said he enjoyed fantasizing about dragons, and to please not think he was weird. She shook her head. So not the time to think about dragon dorks.

Her light caught a glimmer, and sure enough, there was a jeweled crown sitting in a case at the top of an old drawer.

In ten seconds flat, Ruff had helped her up, and the case was taken down. The problem was: it was still _in a case._

"How do we get it out?" Heather asked, sighing.

The lights flickered open.

"You can't. But I shouldn't have too much trouble with it."

Astrid's head snapped up fearfully. Gothel was smirking at her, with the ever loyal guard next to her, in such a way that made her blood boil and her fists clench. She quickly _unclenched_ them, though, when Stabbington stepped forward, and clutched the case as though her life depended on it.

Not for nothing was Stabbington a big and burly man. He snatched it from here, and even ignored Stormfly's, ah, _terrifying_ glare (the only thing that was terrifying was the fact that she had the guts to try).

He made his way out, and suddenly Astrid realized Gothel wasn't planning on arresting them.

 _Dun dun da da da dun dun dun._

She changed the passcode.

She was going to lock them in.

" _No!"_ The girls ran for the door, but even Anna would've known that it was hopeless. The only thing Astrid heard before it shut in her face was, "Goodbye, Astrid. Enjoy Coronation Day."

 **Ah, great. Poor Asty.**


	16. Chapter 16

" _Push through it, Stormfly!"_

To no avail were those words of encouragement and the fairy was sent flying back out of the vent right into the wall. Astrid hopped down from the box she was standing on and picked her up. "You okay?"

"Oh, me?" I'll be…" She thought for a while. "Fine."

Heather hummed a tune as she unscrewed a few more vents, but they all had strong fans in them, which the tiny fairy would be blown away by.

"Hmm hmm hm hm hm hmm hmm hmm. Laa laa la la la laa laa laa."

The tune was eerily familiar, but Astrid supposed she had just heard it on those rareoccurences that Heather let them listen to her music. She turned her head towards the door, where Ruff was using a decorative sword she had found to try to pry the door open. Her face was turning red with exertion.

 _Bang._

The sword flew threw the air and hit a small box none of them had noticed. Astrid checked her phone's dying battery. The coronation had started. Ruff was inspecting the box.

"Guys, check this out."

Heather hopped down and they both peered at it. It had wires everywhere, looping and in different colors. Astrid put a hand in and plucked one out.

A large alarm sounded throughout the room. Ruff sighed.

"If only there was a keypad _inside_ the room."

"Maybe," Astrid said, excitement in her voice, "Someone from outside could hook it up!"

"Ast, if someone was outside we wouldn't _need_ to hook it up!"

"Can't we call someone?" Heather asked desperately.

" _Who?"_ Astrid said bitterly, "The other girls are getting their crowns right about now, they're not gonna have their phones, right now they're too busy becoming princesses and posing for the princes and -"

She paused.

"The princes are here, right?"

"Yeah," Heather mumbled, already going back to unscrewing the vents, "Hmm hmm hm hm - they had their coronation yesterday."

Astrid's heart raced.

" _I'm good with mechanics."_

 _Hiccup._

Her phone was going to die. Without telling the others anything, she took it out, and dialed his number.

* * *

So far, Henry Horrendous Haddock the Third had been pretty bored. Except for a sweet black dog who had seemed to taken a liking to happen - his collar said his name was _Toothless -_ he didn't see the girl he had yearned to see for a while now. Where _was_ she?

Astrid would look very pretty in one of those dresses. He sighed and pet Toothless between the ears.

Suddenly, his phone began ringing, _loudly,_ and one of his teachers, Gobber, gave him a look.

 _Get out of her,_ that look said.

Hiccup trudged out, mumbling apologies for interrupting the ceremony and then leaned against the wall outside. He checked the phone.

 _Astrid?_

Why was she calling him? Why wasn't she out there? Well, he supposed he should probably answer and find out.

"Hello?"

" _Hiccup!_ Oh, I am _so_ glad you answered. Listen, my phone's gonna die and I need your help. Are you in the castle?"

"Yes," he responded, confused beyond belief, "But where are _you?"_

"Trapped in the basement," she answered frantically, "You have to help us! Please, come down to the basement; careful, there are lasers at first, and then get us out of this vault!"

"But -"

 _Click._

"Astrid? _Astrid!"_

Toothless barked, and whimpered at him, looking at him with big eyes. Hiccup turned around to view the coronation.

They wouldn't miss him for a little while.

"Come on, bud. Let's go get Astrid. Who knows, through all this, I might even get a date."

 **I changed the POV because I was aching to write Hiccup. Again, for people who have seen the movie, I** ** _know_** **Blaire doesn't call Nicholas, but honestly, I never liked him because he had, like, no role. And obviously our resident dork is more important than that.  
Also, you might have realized, but it's kinda hard for me to post on weekends. Sorry 'bout that!**


	17. Chapter 17

Her fingers drummed the table slightly as Heather continued to hum and Ruffnut continued to pace. She didn't know whether Hiccup was coming, didn't even know if he'd heard her. He may have and decided she was crazy, or simply that he couldn't do it; he'd get in trouble.

So her surprise was great when she heard a hesitant voice outside call out, "Astrid? You in there?"

She thought she might cry with relief.

" _Hiccup?"_

"Yeah! Er…" He sounded as though he wasn't sure what to say. "Are you going to explain any of this?"

Astrid was about to question how he had gotten past the lasers, but Ruff gave her a pointed look, and she said, "I will! But first, I need you to type 0424 into the keypad!"

"Wait, Astrid -" Heather began, but a loud honk resonated across the room, and then she finished, "Gothel changed the password, remember?"

She grit her teeth. Why did Gothel _have_ to? How did she think they were gonna get out?

"But," Heather went on, "I might know it!"

"You saw it?" Astrid asked in amazement.

Heather shook her head, and she felt her heart drop, but then the girl hummed that tune again.

" _Hmm hmm hm hm hm hmm hmm hmm."_

Of _course._

"That's what I've been humming all this time!" she said excitedly, "Hiccup, type in...do, re, mi...hm hm hm."

She closed her eyes, and then magically, eight numbers flew out of her mouth and were typed in.

Two antagonizing seconds passed.

And then they heard the wheel whirl, and suddenly instead of facing a golden door, they were facing Hiccup and Toothless.

"Yes!" Ruff shouted, pumping a fist in the air. "Let's go!"

Hiccup raised an eye as they all began running. Not even losing an ounce of breath, she explained everything. From the portrait to Rapunzel to Gothel to her being Princess Astoria.

"Wow," Hiccup said as she finished, "Wow."

Toothless barked, as though in agreement.

"Stormfly." Astrid turned to face the fairy. "You need to distract Stabbington. I won't be surprised if he's guarding the Coronation Ceremony." She turned to face Hiccup. "Is there a big burly brute of a man outside the room?"

When he confirmed this news, she nodded to Stormfly, who zipped forward.

By the time they reached the hall, Stabbington wasn't there, so she could only hope that Stormfly was okay.. The three girls and Hiccup ran in just as:

"Princess Rapunzel, daughter of Dame Gothel, I now crown you -"

" _Stop that crown!"_ Astrid shrieked.

Everyone in the hall looked at her, Tooth apprehensively.

"No, do not stop!" Gothel shouted, pointing at Rapunzel, who everyone had noticed had been backing away slowly from the crown, trying to delay it. "Crown her!

"I am making a claim to the throne," Astrid began regally, "Because I am Princess Astoria, daughter of Queen Valka."

"There _is_ a remarkable likliness," the man who had been crowning everyone said, and everyone had stopped what they were doing, and were now looking back and forth. Astrid saw one of the prince's teachers shaking his head at Hiccup, who lightly groaned behind her.

Gothel exploded. "This is ridiculous! The princess died seventeen years ago! Crown Rapunzel and make her the ruler of Berk for life!"

"Dame Gothel, this is a serious matter. We have to -"

" _We have to crown my daughter!"_

And the chase for the crown began.

 **Hahahaha -** ** _go to hell, Gothel._**


	18. Chapter 18

Gothel snatched the crown from the man's hand, despite his protests when a certain fairy, along with her two companions, flew towards her face, causing her to fling her hands up, and the crown went flying and landed on the carpet in front of them. Hiccup ran towards it, almost snatching the crown, but what had to be realized was that since the fairies were back, so was Stabbington. He took the end of the rug and shook it, just as the Haddock's arm was about to close over it.

The crown went flying towards the guard, who did not miss it. Now Stabbington had the crown. And Astrid was smart enough not to engage him in a fight.

Gothel shut the fairies in in the case the crowns had been kept in, and walked past her, smirking victoriously. This was her moment. Had they really lost?

No one noticed the black dog who ran right behind Stabbington. At least, they didn't notice him until the guard was knocked onto the floor.

The crown flew again. Straight over Gothel's head, straight over _Astrid's_ head.

Rapunzel caught the crown.

Time seemed to freeze as everyone looked at her. The room fell silent and she slowly walked forward.

The only two people who moved were her mother - who had raised her and told her she would rule the kingdom - and Astrid - who had done _nothing_ for her. Bumped into her, teased her, and who Rapunzel had insulted. Both girls knew that their relationship was not ideal as that of friends.

But unlike her mother, she had a sense of right...and wrong,

She stepped towards Astrid, and placed the crown on her head.

Everyone's jaw dropped as the crown began to sparkle, shine, glimmer. Little balls of light flew around Astrid, and she felt her uniform become something else. Much heavier, and much more grand. It swirled around her, changing her clothes, and Astrid realized, with some amusement, that this was being filmed. It was on Live TV. Phlegma and Gustav were watching.

No one breathed when she was done.

For about two seconds.

" _You stupid girl!"_ Gothel shrieked at Rapunzel, who whimpered and stepped back, "How could you? I kidnapped you and eliminated the rest of the family so that _you_ could be the princess one day!"

Everyone let out a collective gasp.

Gothel seemed to realize what she said as she looked around the room, laughing lightly. "Ah, no, that's not what I meant."

"Guard," Toothiana said firmly, "Take her away. And him for good measure too," she added, gesturing at Stabbington.

As the woman screamed profanities and was taken out, Astrid turned to Rapunzel. The princess had a few tears in her eyes, and she bowed.

Astrid hugged her. "You see, don't you?"

She felt her nod. "I'm kidnapped, and - and -"

"Rapunzel," Astrid whispered, "Kidnapped from the royal family. _You're_ Princess Rachel. You're - you're my _sister."_

Rapunzel's grip tightened.

"Astrid," Toothiana interrupted, "Ahem, excuse me. _Princess_ Astoria, is there anything you'd like to say to your new subjects?"

She took a deep breath, released her hold on her sister, and stood up on the stage. Ruff beamed at her.

"Hi." _Smooth, Astrid, just smooth._

"Trust me, I'm just a normal girl." She glanced down for a second before continuing.. "But I think Headmistress Toothiana is right when she says everyone has princess potential." She took another deep breath. "It is an honour to be your princess."

Applause filled the room, and Astrid waved at the cameraman, intent on having this small connection to her mother before she brought the two of them to the castle.

Tooth stepped up gracefully. "Ahem, your Highness, this is usually the time when the princess chooses her lady royal."

Astrid looked at her two friends, only to see Ruff mouthing, " _No way, dude,"_ and Heather shaking her head lightly. She turned to the other girl who had helped her get here. "Rapunzel?"

A few tears had poured down her cheeks. "M-me? But Astrid, I was _horrible_ to you."

"I wouldn't be here without your help. Plus, I won't make the same mistake my mom made. So, sis, wanna be my lady royal?"

She didn't say anything, only stepped up, and the man next to the case handed her a crown, which was placed on Rapunzel's head.

" _Princess Astrid, and Lady Royal Rapunzel, of Berk!"_

Crowns were thrown into the air, but the two girls didn't notice; they were hugging each other again.

 **ONE MORE CHAPTER!  
** **Guys, there's a carnival here and oh Thor I don't wanna go cause it's not fun alone but I am vastly outvoted so...*sighs***


	19. Chapter 19

"Princesses, princes" - there was a bark from Toothless - "and dogs. It's time to party!" Tooth threw her hands into the air.

Music blared throughout the room, and suddenly everyone heard Heather's voice, magnified. "Here's a new tune. I made it myself. Hope you like it!"

Astrid and Ruff danced their way over to Heather. ""No way," Ruff said disbelievingly, "You're showcasing your music?"

"It was definitely time," Heather nodded with a smirk.

Astrid punched her lightly on the shoulder. "I love it!"

"Hey, uh, Ast?" Ruff said, smirking, "Don't look now, but...look now."

She turned around to see Hiccup grinning at the bottom of the stage, and without further ado, she jumped down, dress and all.

"Congratulations on your coronation, Princess Astoria." You could tell he was trying not to laugh.

"Thank you," Astrid said, eyes lighting up with amusement, "Congratulations on your coronation too, Prince Henry."

He looked around for a moment before bowing deeply and asking, "May I have the honour of a dance?" in the fakest British accent she had ever heard.

Well, it _was_ the fakest British accent she had ever heard until until she responded, "Nothing would make me happier," in an even faker one, and they both began dancing, laughing and sharing jokes.

Twirling and gliding, Astrid was having the time of her life. She was dancing with a rather dashing boy, her and her friends had made it to the coronation and _hadn't_ been thrown in jail, and she had just met her long lost sister. Everything was amazing. Well, except:

"Your highness?" Rapunzel interrupted the dance with a small smile. "Two very important people are here to see you."

Gustav and Phlegma walked in, awed by everything. They were wearing their best clothes, which, admittedly, were not as glamorous as the graduates', but now Astrid had eyes for no one else.

" _Mom! Gustav!"_

The family embraced, and Phlegma coddled her close to her chest. "Astrid," she whispered, "Oh, my baby girl. I am so proud of you."

"Do we get to live _here?_ In the castle?" asked Gustav, getting excited quickly.

"We do," she answered, "I know it's not exactly what we dreamed about -"

"Are you _kidding?_ It's more than anything we've ever dreamed about!"

She placed her hand on both their backs. "It is now that the two of you are here. Now come on, I wanna introduce you to everyone!"

 **Jump up, hands in the air**

 **Crowns on our heads, lighter than air**

 **Come on**

 **Now spin to the left, spin to the right**

 **We're graduates**

 **And it's so nice**

Everyone was up and dancing, spinning, everything. They were all like lightning on their feet. At one point, Anna tripped, but it didn't matter anymore, because she was a princess, which no one quite understood but it seemed like flawless logic. Astrid shook her head and exchanged a glance with Tooth.

" _Remember, every girl is a princess."_

 **We rule this school**

 **We rule this school**

 **It's friendship that makes us strong**

 **And we all belong**

 **Yeah, we all belong**

 **AAAAAAND...done.  
That brings about the conclusion to Princess Charm School! I hope you enjoyed the story, and my little diversions from what actually happened. I'm thinking about doing another one, but after break. For now, I shall doth rest.  
Thank you for all your brilliant reviews!**


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